


A New Year With You

by Free_at_last



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, My First Fanfic, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New York City, Oneshot, sharkbaitss2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5516666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Free_at_last/pseuds/Free_at_last
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin takes Haru to New York City to see the ball drop on New Year's Eve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Year With You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TittyAlways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TittyAlways/gifts).



_"Go? Go where?”_

Rin didn’t know why he thought this was a good idea, or why Haru had even agreed to it, but it’s too late to back out now.

_"Isn't it obvious? America!”_

There’s only half an hour left of this torturous plane ride, Rin tells himself, as Haru sleeps on his shoulder.

_“But it’s New Year’s Eve, Rin.”_

He wishes he could sleep- sleep away the nervousness that’s eating at his insides. Haru’s closeness doesn’t make it easier. Rin’s entire right side is burning from his friend’s warmth.

_“Exactly. Let’s see the ball drop!”_

Rin hopes that Haru doesn’t know about the romantic context surrounding New Year’s in America. He hopes that Haru sees this as a nice short vacation with his good friend to spend some more time together. Oh, who is he kidding, that’s not what he hopes at all. The truth is that he hopes the atmosphere of New York City will give him the courage to tell Haru how he feels.

_“Okay.”_

He honestly hadn’t expected Haru to say yes, especially after inviting him the same way he had to Australia two years prior by just showing up at his doorstep. But they’ve been apart for some time, and Rin supposes that maybe Haru’s changed- they both have. Haru now attends university in Tokyo and Rin in Australia. The distance isn’t as painful as the first time because Rin makes sure to keep in contact. They skype at least twice a week and he looks forward to it every time.

“Oi, Haru,” Rin wakes his sleeping friend up with a slight nudge. “Look.” Haru slowly opens his eyes and squints out the window. From high in the plane they can already see the skyline of New York. The sun is just about to set, engulfing the city in bright orange and pink hues. “How’s this for a sight you’ve never seen before?” Rin asks.

“I’d rather skip the plane ride and see the sun set in Tokyo.” Haru says sleepily. Despite his words, his eyes stay fixated on the window.

“H-hey! Wait until the ball drop!” Rin replies, offended. Rin almost regrets the whole idea, but his plans for what lie ahead keep him determined.

They arrive at the airport shortly afterward. It’s bustling with people, and Rin can see that Haru is getting anxious. “Haru,’ Rin says, “Stay close to me and you’ll be fine, okay?” He extends an arm out to him in reassurance.

“Okay.” Haru grabs onto Rin’s wrist, and lets him guide them through customs.

An hour and a half later, they finally exit the airport. Only at that point does Haru let go of Rin’s wrist. Rin is both relieved and disappointed by this. The closeness was nice, but also completely and utterly terrifying. They take a taxi to their hotel to drop off all of their things. This time, they have two beds.

“Hey Haru, looks like we don’t have to share a bed this time!” Rin says as he enters the room.

“Aww, and I was feeling nostalgic,” Haru replies, as he puts his bag down on one of the beds. Rin knows he’s joking, but it doesn’t stop his heart from beating stronger in his chest. “I’m going to take a bath.”

“Haru! We don’t have that much time until midnight, you know.”

“The water misses me, Rin. I need a bath.” Haru says, as if it’s the most obvious statement in the world. Rin supposes he can’t argue with him about something like this, so he concedes.

Rin tries to nap while Haru takes his bath, but it’s no use. He’s still too anxious because his plans have been muddled this early into their trip. Now they don’t have time to go out to eat before they head to Times Square. So Rin sits on his bed and tries to come up with a new plan. It’s not as perfect as the previous plan, but hopefully it will still have the same end result.

Haru’s bath, as Rin had expected, lasted two hours. Even though Haru is ridiculous, at least he’s predictable. Rin rushes him to get ready because they have to walk to Times Square.

The walk is cold, yet pleasant. Haru finally looks like he’s enjoying himself. Rin is too, if not only because he’s with Haru. While Haru gazes with awe at the beauty of the city, it’s enough for Rin to see his joyful face. Already he determines the trip was worth it.  They stop for a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s.

“Do you like New York so far?” Rin asks, after they’ve sat down with their food.

“Yeah,” Haru says, “I thought it would be just like Tokyo but it’s not… I like it.”

“Good! I was-” Rin starts to reply.

“Thank you, Rin.” Haru says, smiling.

Immediately, Rin forgets what he was saying. Haru’s sincerity at times like these never cease to make him forget everything else around him. That’s one of the things he loves about Haru.

Rin just smiles back.

They finish their food and make it to Times Square with half an hour to spare. It’s absolutely _packed_. Rin and Haru can’t even make it close enough to even see the ball clearly. Rin feels like an idiot. How could he have messed this up?

“I’m so sorry, Haru. We can barely even see the ball from here. God, this sucks.” Rin says, facepalming.

“Rin, it’s okay. We’re still here, after all.” Haru assures him. He’s being really nice to him today. Rin appreciates it as much as he is suspicious.

They make small talk as time passes and the cold weather catches up with Rin. He rubs his hands together and breathes warm air into them.

“Cold?” Haru asks, “Here.” Haru extends his hands out from his coat pockets to Rin.

“You mean-?” Rin asks, and Haru nods. Rin takes his friend’s hands. They’re much warmer than his own. “Thanks.” He swears that they looked into each other’s eyes for a second before they both looked away. His heart is beating faster than he’s ever felt before- even faster than when he’s near the end of a race.

Rin clears his throat. “It’s almost midnight.” He can see his breath as he speaks. “It’s tradition in America to start the year with a kiss, so, uh, we’ll probably see a lot of couples around us kissing.” Rin expects a joke response from Haru, but he just nods while looking at the ground. This is the perfect opportunity. When the ball drops, Rin will confess to Haru. All the couples kissing around them should be more than enough for the romantic atmosphere Rin wanted.

They’re still holding hands when the countdown starts.

“Ten.” Rin joins the crowd in the countdown.

“Nine.” Haru still maintains eye contact with the ground, but he joins in as well.

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

“Six.” Rin is staring at where the ball will be.

“Five.”

“Four.” He feels Haru let go of his hands.

“Three.”

“Two.” He feels those same set of hands now on his shoulders.

“One! Happ-” Rin is being pulled down and his words are interrupted by Haru’s lips on his. He melts into the touch, and wraps his arms around Haru’s waist. He deepens the kiss and pulls Haru closer. His head is spinning, but he’s too happy to stop and ask questions.

Eventually Haru breaks the kiss. “Happy New Year, Rin.” He says. Rin doesn’t respond. He can’t. In fact, he may not be able to speak for the rest of his life, and he doesn’t even care. Haru has just made him the happiest man alive. Haru tilts his head. “This is what you wanted, right?”

Rin can only nod slowly. He brings his hands up to Haru’s chin and goes in for another kiss. Suddenly the cold weather has no effect on him. In fact, he’s never felt warmer.

When they get back to their hotel that night, they don’t even end up using the other bed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Rin, you’re such a romantic.” Haru teases. “I knew what you were up to the whole time.”

“Please! I am the master of subtlety. There’s no way-“

“And Gou told me.”

“Why would she do that to me? You know what, I’m going to call her and tell her right now what I think about that. This is the last straw!”

“Uh, Rin. That was ten years ago. I doubt she’d even remember telling me about it. Relax.”

“She’s lucky it worked out, then.” Rin pouts.

The husbands are sitting together on the couch in their apartment on New Year’s Eve, still an hour away from the countdown on the television.

“Riiiin, let’s skip the countdown. It’s not as fun as when we were younger.” Haru pokes Rin on the chest and scoots closer. He brings his mouth up to Rin’s ear and whipsers, “…And you don’t have to wait until midnight to see these balls drop.”

Rin bursts out laughing and pushes Haru onto his back. “That doesn’t even make sense, idiot.” He tackles his husband with kisses. “But I love you anyway. Happy New Year.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first ever fic so please tell me what you think! Merry Christmas!


End file.
